The Look

Oh what I would give to hone that skill of grace under pressure. In all fairness, I think I’m almost nearly there, but not quite graceful enough. There’s room to do better, and only god knows what my evil bubble thoughts were at that point in time when it happened. If thoughts could kill!

It happened to me just a few days ago in the office. I won’t detail it out, but let’s just say it was not the most pleasant especially when you are dealing with a Ms Almighty-Pretentious-Spoilt-Twat who speaks with an unnatural English accent and thinks she is god’s gift to the world. While I successfully (I think!) gave a stoic, nonchalant look in all that grace under pressure demeanour, I let off my steam via MSN concurrently to Aunt Antsy and Silver Bullet. They probably could see that my ears were steaming with smokes, and were kind enough to tolerate my rant.

The conversation after my rant while furiously typing on the keyboard with Aunt Antsy went like this:

Antz 헤니: Ok, u have 2 choices:
(and she began to list out what my choices would be)

Me: nah..i won't go down to her level. I'll be the gracious person

Antz 헤니: Good. Just ignore her lah ... U give her that look u were so famous for.... 10 years ago. :D

Me: what look? you mean I have THE look?

Antz 헤니: Yesh .... We all remembered .... being terrified of it. That withering, stare u down till u r worthless kinda gaze.... Scary! : :D

Me: you serious?

Antz 헤니: U didn't have to try very hard to scare us lah.... :P Dats y they all say I v brave to approach u (a total stranger not known for her outgoing nature-then) in school. On retrospect, it wasn't that scary. But I thought I ought to deserve a medal.

Hmmm… I told her I would give her a trophy, instead. To that, she vehemently declined.

Nothing like brutal honesty between really good friends. I had to laugh really hard at "That withering, stare u down till u r worthless kinda gaze" quote.

Thinking back, I do remember “The Look” she described...simply because good old  friends don't let me forget easily that I can get quite kuai lan and snobbishly bitchy when push comes to shove.I have known for a fact that I used to (or perhaps even still have!) a face people just hate. But, that was a long time ago. I'm all chilled out  and mellow now that I have been told I might have even achieved sainthood.

It makes me wonder , however, if I will be able to ever find back that look now. It might just be fun to try again! :p

Hamster Harness

People are weird. Recently I came to know that there are sick people out there who now sell harnesses for hamsters. Why hamsters need a harness is beyond me, for I don’t think a hamster needs to be walked. Ever.
This story came to light when Aunt Antsy told me of an incident about her colleagues who bought a hamster leash for their hamsters. They wanted to try on Kelpie, Aunt Antsy’s hammie.  When they propositioned the idea, she told them that if they weren't afraid of being bitten, they can try. She had expected them to desist as Kelpie has bitten all of them before. Apparently quite badly too.

The story went that one of her colleague had picked Kelpie up, held her very tightly to prevent her from biting him and then tried to put the teeny-weeny hamster harness on her. He squeezed her so tight, her already protruding eyes were practically bulging from her eye sockets. She felt kelpie’s pain and so after 3-5secs, she very nicely asked them to return Kelpie to her. Poor Kelpie! Aunt Antsy spent her whole weekend fretting that Kelpie she might die of internal injury from being squeezed so hard. [Kelpie pulled through, though]

Aunt Antsy, being Aunt Antsy then made the picture below in light of the hamster harness incident and sent it to me. Apparently, she was very close to printing a copy and sticking it in her cubicle. I told her she should. Hamster leash does sound ridiculous. Some human being really have no empathy for animals!.

I thought Kelpie looks all too cute. besides, I support her cause and so, and I can't help but post Aunt Antsy's handiwork.

Disgustingly Appalling!

There is something VERY wrong about this image here, and I do find it to be extremely disturbing!    

Click here for the video

One thing is very clear to me: The parents of this 2 year-old boy ought to be shot for condoning such habits in a little kid. News has it that this little brat would also demand for coffee along with his cigarettes.Now, why any parents would even think of giving in to such nonsensical demand is beyond me. When I saw the interview on TV, the parents sounded very nonchalant about it. I remember the Mom lamenting that there is nothing she can do as he demands for it. Gee! How about just ignoring him and send him to bed instead? Or even better, just give him a little back-hand swat on the head?

How these people become parents are beyond me.Instead of strictly enforcing discipline, they just give in and then they blame the child for such behaviour? For crying out loud, this fatty-bom-bom is probably still wearing diapers. The only reason he is pushing his luck is because he is getting his way! And as to why he wants a cigarette?  Gee! I wonder if Daddy has been showing exemplary example with his own behaviour and mannerism? In fact, all this fatty-bom-bom is trying to do is just emulate his father's behavior so he feels like a man.

Talk about responsible parenting. Thanks to these people, we will be harbouring screw-up kids for the next few generations.

Happy, happy

You know the cats are happy and contented when they suddenly become inconspicuous. Not a peep, not a squeak, not a bleep. Calling out their names tend to be met with an extended silence.No indication of restlessness or pacing up and down the hallway in consternation.

THAT is a good sign indeed. It meant that the cats are now definitely happier. They are feeling utterly contented  and safe in a familiar surrounding and scents which they recognised. They are now back to their usual selves and minding their own business.

I'm happy when they are happy. :D

Moving on

[WARNING: A RATHER LENGTHY BLOG POST]

Home at last!

We could not have been happier when we basically got an OK from the "Risk Management guys" who recommended for us to wait another 24 hours before going home when I contacted them yesterday afternoon. After being away from home for several days, (and what felt like ages!), it was a relief to know that the worst is over. We can now start moving on with our lives as normalcy is being restored.

As much as we didn't want to leave our apartment building, it was the right decision to make. When we got back, we were told that the situation around the apartment was rather bad. Apart from the sound of continuous gunshots and explosions, there were also smoke and fumes from the burning tyres and buildings. It looked like we were spared the unduly stress.

In truth, I would never have imagined us being a part of the entire urban warfare experience such as this. I never would have expected that this was something we'd experience in THIS lifetime. As we got nearer to our apartment, the tension which we felt before left us. There were fewer soldiers around, and the road  towards our soi was nicely quiet, but not threatening.

I was just discussing with Aunt Antsy the other day on the general reactions from people who were not directly affected by such situation. Most would be oblivious to the plight of others who were impacted,and would continue about their daily lives as if nothing ever happened. They don't see why the big fuss around it and somehow, lack the compassion to understand the situation. Worse, they treated those who were actually affected by the crisis as the ones inconveniencing their routine because these affected people could not deliver what they needed under these extraordinary circumstances! It makes me wonder if they just have no empathy or were just really oblivious to the risks these people were exposed to. Either way, they came across as one really sad human being. Mind you, it was not as if those who were affected by the situation asked for it! Given a choice, I'm sure they want their routine back, too. I know WE wanted our routine back.

I mentioned to Aunt Antsy that it is hard to describe what we have experienced. While everything did feel surreal, and even exaggerated, there was no denying that one had to be here to really understand what the fuss was all about. From visiting the Red Camp, to having to evacuate the office, the echos of explosions and mutliple gunshots, the eerie silence as dusk broke, the smell of burning tyres, the plumes of smokes across the skylines, the armed soldiers who seemed too close for comfort, to being locked up at home as all exits and entrance were sealed, the perpetual rapid beating of the heart, worried faces all around and to the dangers and uncertainties of what lies ahead. Day in, day out. Finally, the reluctant but imminent evacuation from our own abode, equipped only with bare necessities and important papers with beloved family members in tow.

Perhaps, we would not have bothered too much if we had lived just that sllightly further. It is, however, hard not to care or continue to be oblivious to things around us. Especially when this has been our home for the last 5 years. And,it happened right in front of our noses, in our own backyard.

As cracked as the culture and society may be, it is where we earn our bread and butter. For what it's worth, Bangkok has allowed us to build our lives together. Despite the fact that we are still considered guests here, it is, at this moment in time, a place we call home.

For us, it has been an unforgettable journey as we live to experience an unexpected historical moment which will forever be etched in our minds and hearts...

Info Overload

It has to be said though that apart from Thai Visa, Twitter has been one of the best sources of UPDATED information available! With an unabashed bravado, both Silver Bullet and I solemnly confess that we caved in and signed up for a Tweeter account just to get live news updates. The irony of it all, especially for Silver Bullet who loathes social networking sites. In this instance though, signing up for Twitter was probably the best thing we could ever done as we became news junkies.

Call it information overload, but here are some fascinating stuff out there shared and posted by Twitterers who covered the crisis in Bangkok in the last week:

1. Central World Fire

Unfortunately, I am not too sure on the original source of this to give credit to, but is one of the most photographed sites and one image that can be found rampantly on the web.  

(Can't help but notice the perpetually bemused look of the gold statue. The irony!)

2. Simply Eerie

Again, not too sure where is the original source of these images for me to mention credit, but the similarity depicted here is really scary.

3. The Crackdown

Visually engaging photographs that will make you cringe as the contents are rather disturbing

(WARNING: PROCEED WITH CAUTION)

Link

4. A Perspective from 2007

One of the Twitterers  I was following happens to be a journalist from The Nation. This crisis reminded him of an article he wrote 3 years ago...

Opinion on the "Mastermind"

5. Global Voices
Snippets from bloggers from all around.

Link

The Aftermath Blog Post

Stumbled upon this  blog post from one of the tweets I've been following. Worth a read and extremely well-written with a very balanced perspective of things that has unfolded in Bangkok.